


The Undoing of Apollo

by rayjayway



Category: Greek Mythology, Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction, Love, Romance, relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2020-10-13 07:43:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20578952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayjayway/pseuds/rayjayway
Summary: during a normal day at Underworld Corp Persephone bumps into someone she wishes she never had to see again. a concerned Hades chases after her when she flees and tries to find out why she is so upset.





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: this is a fanfic based on Lore Olympus any Rachel Smythe. the characters are not my own, all copyrights belong to her and all storylines here are based on, but unrelated to her original work.

Hades smiles and idly runs a hand through his silver hair, “thanks Kore, that’s all I needed to see you about for now. you’ll have to excuse me though, unfortunately I have another meeting.” his jaw sets in a grimace and she wonders who could be deserving of that subtle reaction.

a knock at the door gets Persephones’ attention, she turns and freezes. a flash of purple... her feet are rooted to the spot. she sees his Cheshire grin, as he waves at her through the glass window. it makes her stomach twist. what in the gods is he doing here? doesn’t Hades hate him?  
“yes, come in Apollo,” Hades voice is formal, unkind.  
“hey Persie, I’m so happy to have bumped into you!” his voice purrs at her but she can barely hear it, it feels like her mind is disconnecting from her body in fear, like that night.  
“how have you been?” his arms reach out to embrace her and she flinches. recoiling from his touch and close to hyperventilating, her fight or flight instincts finally return and without a word she backs away from his grasp and flees Hades office, behind her she just barely hears Apollo say with a laugh “that’s odd.”

she finds the door to the ladies bathroom, locks herself in a stall and sinks to the cool, tiled floor, ‘deep breaths Persephone, deep breaths,’ she mumbles, cursing herself internally for letting him make her feel this way. after a few moments she remembers Eros’ advice to be kind to herself and a few tears spill from her eyes. hugging her knees miserably Persephone begins to collect herself. ‘how long until I don’t feel this way?’ sniff. ‘I hate that he has this effect on me...’ 

the door creaks open, “Kore? are you in here?” a light relief washes over her at the sound of Hades’ voice, she manages a small yes and unlocks the door of the stall. a concerned face appears as it opens and Hades sinks down to join her on the floor. despite the sadness, there’s a tiny swell of happiness in her heart that he came to find her.  
“what happened? are you okay?” his voice is almost anguished. Persephone manages a small smile, “oh I’m fine, just being silly, I hope you aren’t missing your meeting for this.” she looks up at him to see that he’s frowning.  
“you clearly aren’t fine,” he gestures to her, “there’s no need to lie, you can talk to me,”  
“really, I’m fine, I just needed a minute,” she wipes the tears from her cheek.  
“a minute? you were fine until Apollo came in, what did he do? has something happened?” his voice is soft but there’s an edge to it and a glint of red appearing in his eyes, “Kore, you forget... I can feel your emotions, I know you’re not fine. I’ve felt sadness from you before but nothing like this...” he pauses, “this... this is overwhelming me, it’s so thick and deep that I feel like I could drown in it...” his voice cracks slightly and Persephone looks up at him, his face is wracked with concern, he seems to be fighting the urge to reach out to her.  
“talk to me, tell me what he’s done to make you feel this way,” he finally reaches out and gently rests his hand on her shoulder, giving it a brief, consoling squeeze. something inside her starts to crumble, her composure is failing and the heartbreak threatens to swallow her up. Hades’ eyes widen as her hair starts growing, a wild, unruly tangle, unlike the silky tresses he has seen before, he feels her body tremble and on instinct he pulls her into his arms as small sobs wrack through her tiny body.

“Kore.” he breathes softly into her hair, he holds her tightly, his mind racing with disturbing images of what Apollo could have done. his jaw is clenched so tight he starts to fear he might crack his teeth.  
“Kore, you are safe with me, I promise. did he-“ he pauses, searching for the right words, “did he hurt you?” she peers up at him, she can see the outright anger and pain on his face.  
“I-l-I-“ between sobs she tries to speak, he cups a reassuring hand to her face,  
“take your time, take a moment to breathe, it’s okay,” she inhales deeply, the smell of his cologne familiar and comforting, the warmth of his embrace soothes her slightly.  
“I didn’t want to...” she manages in a tiny voice. Hades body stiffens in understanding. something inside him snaps and his insides feel like they’re turning to lead. the rage threatens to suffocate him and his control over the white hot anger is coming undone.

“I’ll kill him.” he growls through gritted teeth. “I’ll fucking kill him.”


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hades struggles to control his anger after hearing what Apollo has done.

Hades stands up abruptly, the anger is blinding. He can feel his own blood burning under his skin, he wants to scream and smash everything he can see. “I swear to the gods I will rip Apollo into pieces,” his voice is guttural, almost animal, he spits the name Apollo out like poison.  
as he starts pacing agitatedly Persephone watches on in shock, she can see his body shaking, his hands are covering his face, almost clawing at the skin, the glow of red from his eyes is unmissable. ”Hades?” her soft voice creeps through to him, snapping him back into the room. after a moment he meets her gaze, noting the bewildered expression on her face… it’s almost fearful.  
“Hades, please come sit back down”, her voice is shaky and pleading.   
“I don't think I can, that piece of shit is still in this building, in my realm, still breathing!” he’s spiralling now, losing it.  
“I need to go deal with him. then I’ll come back, I’ll send Hecate to stay with you.” there is a glow around him now as he starts to walk away.  
“Hades, no! please?” he doesn’t hear, he is consumed with red-hot anger.   
Persephone trembles, “Hades you can’t! please stay here with me!” she chokes out on the brink of tears again, but he has rounded the corner and disappeared from view. panic and fear grip her as she scrambles to get up and go after him. ‘ohhhh!’ a sudden bolt of inspiration flashes and without hesitation she slams her fists twice on the ground. a pretty burst of blue flame sparkles and Hades materialises back in front of her, a look of shock on his face. gently Persephone takes his hand, “please… stay?” she sobs, and though the pain of his fury is almost unbearable, he obeys. he draws a deep breath as he sits back down, trying to contain himself once more.

“I’m sorry…” she mumbles after a few minutes, looking down at her feet.  
he lets out a long breath he hadn’t even realised he was holding in, “oh Kore… you have absolutely nothing to apologise for, you’ve done nothing wrong…” his jaw is still clenched but he feels a tiny piece of anger ebb away, pushed aside by his need to comfort her. he quashes the urge to hold her again despite the longing left from that brief moment of intimacy they’d just shared.   
“it’s just… you’re my boss. this is probably completely inappropriate, and you already have so many other things to deal with, you shouldn't have to worry about me too…” she trails off for a moment, “I know you’re angry because you hate Apollo but… you don’t have to fight this battle for me… it’s just hard to run into him.” she sniffs, stifling the next sob, “seeing him brings it all back…”  
“I’m not angry because I hate Apollo per se,” he muses, “in fact, I’m almost sure you won’t be the first woman he’s hurt. Kore, I’m angry because I care about you…” he stops, daring himself to say it.   
‘come on Hades, you can do this’ he groans inwardly taking a slow, shaky breath.  
“okay, I care about you a lot. too much. ever since you came crashing into my life bringing that sweet chaos with you I have been consumed with you. you are like the first gulp of air after being trapped underwater, being near you is like being in a soft, pink bubble where nothing could ever be wrong and being apart from you feels like a knife constantly twisting in my side. I tried in vain to push you away after what happened in Tartarus in an effort to keep you safe, but now I fear I’ve done the opposite.” he sighs and looks down at the ground, shame pitting in his hollow heart, “I have tried desperately to stamp out these feelings… I’m wildly aware of how inadequate a partner I would be for you, and that’s under the outrageous assumption that someone as beautiful and wonderful as you would ever reciprocate these feelings which I know is insane… but now you know, I completely understand if you don’t want to continue with your internship…”  
“um… Hades?” his eyes flicker up to meet hers, “I um…” floom! a crown of blue flowers flops across his brow as a sweet smile spreads across her face,

“I like you too.”


	3. Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hades has finally confessed his feelings to Persephone, and only he is surprised to hear that she feels the same.

There’s a momentary stunned silence, Persephones’ words are ringing in Hades’ ears like a siren. in a heartbeat the anger dissipates, the rage subsides and he feels like he could melt into the ground under her steady gaze, he forgets everything apart from those words.  
“I’m sorry, what?” he breathes, finally breaking the tension.  
“I kind of thought you already knew,” she shrugs shyly, “I just thought, y’know, that there was no way you felt the same and that you were just being nice… humouring me. and then there’s um… Minthe too, so I guess I thought you liked her not me.”

Hades groans into his hands, “I told myself you were just being nice too, that I didn’t deserve you…”   
Persephone rests a hand on his, “why in Gaia would you think that?” she presses, he sighs heavily.  
“because it’s true Kore. I have imagined telling you how I feel a thousand times, but never once did I dare to imagine that you could ever feel the same. that someone as pure and light as you could feel that way about someone as dark and broken as me… I am physically and emotionally wrong for you. I’m the King of the Dead, I smell of death and you smell of sweet flowers after the first spring rain. I live here in the Underworld in darkness and you belong in a meadow, shining under the sun. there is no reality where I am good enough for you, as much as I longed for it to be so.”  
“I don’t think you smell of death.”  
“what?” he catches a blush forming on her cheeks, barely a contrast against her soft, pink hue, a soft smile creeping at her lips. her hand is still on his, he feels her lace her fingers between his own.   
“I don’t think you smell of death,” she says again plainly, “to me you’ve always smelled safe and comforting… like um… like a forest fire in winter.” the blush spreads across her face and Hades is sure a similar colour is mirrored on his own face.

Persephone sees him grin. she shuffles across to sit next to him and rests her head against his shoulder, beaming, “well… I can’t say I was expecting this today. I have been around for… a while…” he laughs nervously, “but these last few moments have probably been the best so far.” she feels him exhale and his body relaxes, they sit in a comfortable silence for a few minutes taking it all in.

“I’m going to wake up any second now,” he says quietly, “I’ve had this dream before, I always wake up right about now.” Persephone pinches him on the arm.  
“ow! what in gods was that for?”  
“to show you you’re not dreaming, I pinched myself too just incase,” she laughs and it sounds like music to him.  
“I’m still so sure this can’t possibly be real. I mean, I’d really like to get up off this bathroom floor, but I’m a little afraid that when I do I’m going snap back to reality and this will all have been some elaborate hoax concocted by my imagination.”  
“we can get up Hades, nothing is going to change. I’m still going to feel the same way as I have since I met you.” she stands up and offers him her hand.  
“I’m supposed to help you up,” he says rolling his eyes.  
Persephone laughs, “well you should have been quicker then slowpoke,” she sticks her tongue out at him as he gets up, “so, what now?” she adds.

Hades looks down at her, she seems to be sparkling. her hair, he notices, is past her feet but has become sleek and shiny again. he reaches out absentmindedly and runs some between his fingers, marvelling at its silkiness.   
“hmm… I guess I need to have a conversation with Minthe... but I think I’d really like to take you on a date.”

Persephone wriggles delightedly, he sees her face light up, and wonders again how it’s even possible that someone as divine as her could have any reciprocating feelings for someone like him.

“I’d like that,” she stretches up on her tippy-toes and lightly, briefly presses her lips against his, when she pulls away she’s satisfied to see complete shock plastered on his face, “I’d like that a lot.”  
before she can completely pull away his arms are around her waist pulling her back to him. it’s a proper kiss this time, the kind that makes your head spin. her hands move up to his face and they realise that they’re both trying to hold themselves to one another, either unwilling or unable to let the other one even a millimetre away. one of his hands snakes its way into her hair, holding her as close as possible.  
Persephones’ mind races, ‘when did I last take a breath? am I actually still breathing at all? do I care? probably not.’ her body feels like every inch of it is on fire.  
it’s the kind of kissing she’s read about, that kind of kiss that people wait their whole lives for and sometimes never have. finally they break apart, both wide eyed and breathing like they’ve run a mile.

“damn.” Hades whispers, “I’d happily do that for the rest of time.” he feels vaguely like he’s floating for a split second until suddenly, as if it’s reminding him that his life is not allowed to be this perfect, his mind reminds him why they’re in the bathroom in the first place.  
he sighs, feeling the rage looming again, dense and heavy like the air before a thunderstorm. he cups a hand to her face gently, “there’s something that still needs our attention though Kore.”

she looks down at the floor as he continues,

“what are we going to do about Apollo?”


	4. Part Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone and Hades discuss how to deal with Apollo.

“Kore? have you thought about what you want to do about this? we can-“ she interrupts him.  
“Hades, we’re not going to do anything, this is my problem to deal with. I can do it on my own.” her jaw sets in a grim determination and he can’t help but smile a little, “I just haven’t quite decided what to do yet.”

“well… I think you should tell Zeus, have him punished accordingly, stand trial.” he pauses, “but only if you want to.”  
“and if he doesn’t believe me? You know how much he likes Apollo…” her voice shakes a little on his name.

Hades smiles reassuringly, “he will, I’ll make sure he does.” he closes the small distance between them and draws her into a tight embrace.  
“I have no proof,” she mumbles into his chest, and then barely more than a whisper, “but he does…”

“hm?” he cups her face in his hands, they look giant against her cheek, “what proof would you need other than your word? I believe you, why wouldn’t Zeus?”  
he strokes her face absentmindedly with his thumb, she stays silent, her eyes refusing to meet his.

“he… I-,” her brow furrows in a frown and he bends downs to gently kiss it.  
“it’s okay sweetness, whatever it is, you can tell me,” his voice is soothing, his warmth and gentleness relax her and she takes a deep breath.  
“he has photos, Hades. he took photos…” she feels his body tense and finally sneaks a glimpse of his face from beneath her eyelashes. his expression is pure fury, his eyes are glowing red.

“I see.” he manages after a moment, closing his eyes and running a hand through his hair. Persephone rests her head on his chest again, after a few seconds she notices he’s holding his breath.  
“breathe Hades,” she whispers, tightening her arms around him, waiting until the air rushes out of him in a deep, angry gasp. 

he wraps his arms around her as much as he can without hurting her, “I’m so sorry that this has happened to you Kore, so, so sorry. if I could just erase it from happening I would, I’d do anything it took. I wish I could have protected you, but, as someone who has watched your powers change and develop I appreciate that you are now strong enough not to need my assistance... no matter how hard it is for me not to go in there and rip his smug, arrogant, piece of shit head off, if that’s not what you want then I accept that. but if you change your mind, I’ll always be here to help you, with anything. whatever you want to do, whenever you’re ready to do it, I will be by your side.”  
“thank you,” she whispers into his chest, stifling a sob, “thank you for thinking I’m strong enough, and for understanding why I can’t just let you go in there and deal with it your way,” she pulls back and looks at him, his handsome, sweet face full of concern, “I just wish I knew what I was going to do.”  
“will you at least allow me to get rid of him from this building? not me personally, I’ll stay here don’t worry.”  
she smiles, “of course, how could I say no? you are the King after all,” she teases.  
tension somewhat broken he smiles back briefly before pulling out his phone.

“Hello? Hecate? yes I’m fine. yes Persephone is also fine. could you please escort Apollo out of my building and out of my realm. tell him if he ever steps a toe over this border it will be the last thing he ever does. no that’s everything, thank you. oh, there is one more thing, I’ll be leaving early today to escort Persephone home, do you think you can cover my meetings for me this afternoon? thank you Hecate, I owe you.”

“that was unnecessary, I’m sure whatever business you had with him was important, otherwise you wouldn’t have had him here in the first place. you could have just rescheduled, you didn’t need to banish him on my account.”  
“didn’t I? Kore, what kind of man would I be if I let him come back here? now this can be your safe place, here with me. whenever you need it. besides, I don’t think I’m strong enough to be near him and not rip him into as many pieces as physically possible…”

Hades watches bemused as a huge grin spreads across her face, “there’s my good boy!” she sings, looking directly past him to the 40-foot-tall Cerberus standing outside the window, his face falls flat as he realises that the beautiful grin isn’t for him.   
“I think someone is rather attached to you,” he mumbles.  
“well that’s because he’s such a good boy! can we take him home?”  
“home?” Hades raises his eyebrow quizically as her cheeks flood a deep magenta.  
“I mean your home, his home,” she waves her arms embarrassed, “I don’t want to be alone at Artemis’, is that okay?”

he takes her hand as they walk to the elevator, his face relaxing into a soft smirk, “of course that’s okay, I can’t think of anything I’d like more.” when they stop Persephone stretches up as high as she can and he bends to meet her lips, it’s a short, soft, sweet kiss but the feeling it gives him still takes him by surprise, he wonders vaguely if he’ll ever get used to it or if it will always make him feel this giddy.


	5. Part Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hades gets a little jealous, Persephone starts to realise just how smitten she is.

“wait, wait, wait. what are you doing?” Hades frowns, “you’re sitting in the back? you can’t be serious!” he looks at Persephone and Cerberus climbing into the back of his car.  
“but if I don’t sit in the back how will I hug him?” she replies clipping in her seatbelt and cuddling him as he lays his paws across her lap.  
“fiiine,” he sighs and gets into the car, glancing in his rear view mirror and grumbling.  
“look Cerbie, look how grumpy your daddy is. I think he’s a little jealous of all these hugs you’re getting!” Cerberus wags his tail happily as she scratches softly behind his ear and kisses his nose.  
“I AM! so jealous!” Persephone catches his eye in the mirror and realises that he’s smiling, it’s a goofy, dorky smile, he barely hears what she says next as she lowers her voice to a whisper.  
“I think he thinks we’re cute Cerbie.” 

She looks out the window as Hades pulls into the garage, all those cars. ‘I wonder if he’d ever let me drive again?’ He opens her door and offers her a hand.  
“thank you,” she beams at him and they walk up to the house in comfortable silence, Cerberus trotting after them, still wagging his tail.

“make yourself comfortable,” he says gesturing to a kitchen stool with one hand, “would you like a drink? I have um… various wines, some different sodas, tea, coffee… uhh, fruit juices? water?”  
“water is fine, thanks.” she pauses “Hades? why do you have so many drinks choices? isn’t it just you here?” he crosses the room and opens a cupboard to get two glasses.  
“oh, you know… incase guests come. I mean… they don’t, but just incase,” he shrugs but she sees the almost imperceptible touch of sadness on his face, only briefly though because a moment later he’s smiling at her and holding out a glass of water.   
It makes her wonder how much he’s gone through to be able to hide his sadness so well.

“so, how are you feeling now? we don’t have to talk about things if you aren’t ready, I just want to check that you’re okay.” he takes a seat across from her at the breakfast bar his leg briefly touches hers.  
“I’m okay,” a hint of a blush spreads across her cheeks and after a moment she adds, “I feel safe here.”  
the sentiment catches him off guard and he tries to laugh it off, “well you should feel safe, Cerberus is a very good guard.” Persephones hand slides across the table and slips into his.  
“no Hades, I feel safe here with you.”   
he gulps audibly, his stomach is knotting and bubbling, no one has ever made him feel like this before.  
he looks at her, waiting for her to laugh and tell him she’s joking, or for the scathing sarcasm he’s used to from Minthe but it doesn’t come, she means it. her face is sincere and he cannot understand why the sweet, divine little goddess in front of him isn’t repulsed like everyone else.

but he’s glad she isn’t.

“are you cold?” he asks, acknowledging the goosebumps on her arms, “sorry, I forget that you’re not used to it like I am, come on, I’ll get you a blanket or something.”  
he leads her through his house to a grand lounge and she sits on a comfortable, blood-red Chesterfield sofa while he busies himself making a fire in the hearth. in a few moments it takes and he sits next to her draping a soft blanket around her as he does.   
“so do you want to talk about it? does Artemis know? tell me to shut up if you want to.”   
“only you and Eros know, he could tell that… things had changed. he used his powers to see what happened when I wasn’t able to tell him.” she sidles up to him, resting her head against him and covering his legs with some of the blanket.  
Hades sighs, puts his arm around her and holds her close, he can smell the floral aroma emanating from her hair and he inhales deeply.  
“we were all watching a movie, Artemis, Hermes, and him… I decided I was tired so I went to bed. I fell asleep so I don’t know how much later it was when he came into my room and woke me up.” she stops and peeks up at him, he’s staring blankly ahead but his jaw is taut.  
“do you want me to continue? it’s hard to talk about but I understand it must also be hard to hear.”  
he glances down, her eyes are sparkling. he plants a kiss on her forehead and squeezes her shoulders.  
“I’m here for you Kore, to listen to however much you want or can bear to tell me. I don’t want you to talk about it if you aren’t ready to yet. please don’t worry about my discomfort, my discomfort is irrelevant, I’m here to comfort you.”  
Persephone smiles up at him, she cannot fathom why this gentle, kind, sweet blue man has been left as lonely as he has, why he doesn’t get guests? why do people avoid him? she wants to kiss him, why is he so tall? even sitting down he’s too high up. she pulls herself up onto his lap and gently pulls his face to hers, their lips meet gently and tentatively. although surprised, he kisses her back sweetly and wraps his arms around her, feeling her body relax into them. the two of them smile shyly at each other and Persephone takes a deep breath to steady herself.

“so,” she continues after a moment, “so then he woke me up…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for Diana, who made me believe in myself xo


	6. The Undoing of Apollo - Part Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone opens up to Hades about her harrowing ordeal at the hands of Apollo, and the two share a sweet moment together, drawing comfort from one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone, so sorry that I haven’t uploaded for a while. I recently moved house and I also have a 9 month old daughter who needs a lot of looking after and I just haven’t found the time to get this chapter done! 
> 
> hopefully the chaos is mostly at an end now and I can get back to updating regularly.
> 
> thank you to anyone reading <3

Persephone avoids looking anywhere but her hands as she continues, her fingers fiddling absentmindedly with a loose string on the blanket.  
“he told me that I’d been flirting with him all day… that he’d been waiting for this. I tried to tell him that I couldn’t, remind him that I’m supposed to be like Artemis and Hestia and never… he didn’t listen and he just kept going…” she pauses for a second and sneaks a glance at Hades, he’s staring intently at her, a furrow in his brow. she sees his face is full of concern and sorrow, but his body is rigid and tense.  
“I-I-I gave up, I said it was okay but… but in my head I wanted to stop, and he… he didn’t stop.”   
a dry sob shakes her body and Hades pulls her into his arms tighter, he rests his chin on the top of her head, the sadness is pulsating out of her and he feels like a boat tormented in a stormy sea.  
“shh, shh, it’s okay. he can’t hurt you again. you’re safe here.” he strokes his fingers through her hair and she buries her face into his chest.  
“does it… does it always hurt Hades?” she asks, it’s almost so quiet he doesn’t hear it, but the question catches him off guard. his jaw clenches again in anger and he takes a deep breath.  
“no little goddess…” he sighs sadly, “it should never hurt. you know, unless you want it to.” he shrugs and laughs nervously. “sorry, nows not the time for stupid jokes.” he adds, internally cringing, but she peeks up at him and he notices a small smile.

“so do you like it when it hurts?” she teases quietly, pleased to watch Hades face burn a deep red.  
“I um, I- that’s um… a question for another time Kore!” he stutters. she laughs, “though I’m glad to have made you feel a little better.”  
she holds her hand against his cheek.

“you always make me feel better.”

she sighs happily and rests her head on his chest again, for a moment all they can hear is one another’s breathing, and Persephone can hear the gentle thump of Hades heartbeat.  
“I could fall asleep like this y’know? I’m so comfortable and I feel so safe here with you.”   
“you’ll get a bad neck if you sleep sitting up like this sweetness, if you’re sleepy I’ll gladly show you to a room where you can get some rest?”   
she stifles a yawn, “m’not that shleepy,” she says, still yawning, much to Hades amusement.  
“come little one, you’ve had a rough day. I think a good nights sleep will do you the world of good”  
he helps her up and leads her down the corridor, opening one of many doors to reveal a spacious room with a large bed.   
“will this be okay? I’ll go grab you something to sleep in, the ensuite has everything you should need to freshen up before you sleep.”  
she murmurs her thanks before shuffling off and he dips out of the room quickly to grab a soft, loose shirt from his closet. he returns and sits on the edge of the bed, replaying the days events over in his mind. taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, he finally lets the magnitude of everything wash over him.  
after a moment the door to the bathroom finally creaks open and Persephone walks out wearing nothing but her underwear, he looks away quickly and holds out the shirt.   
“it’s okay Hades, you don’t need to be embarrassed, but thank you for the shirt,” he smiles and looks back at her, taking in the brief exposure of her curves.  
“gods, you really are beautiful,” he breathes, no louder than a whisper but loud enough for her to catch it, she grins and bends to kiss him on the cheek.

“um… Hades?”  
“yes sweetness?”   
she clambers into the bed and throws open the duvet.  
“will you stay with me tonight?” she asks, patting the bed next to her, “I think I’d sleep much better knowing you were here next to me.” she smiles earnestly and he feels his heart racing. he wants to tell her that he doesn’t think that’s a good idea, that if it were up to him she wouldn’t get any sleep at all, that he’d find it damn near impossible to keep his hands off her… but instead he banishes those thoughts from his mind and reminds himself what a long, difficult day they’ve both had.

“of course Kore,” he smiles, kicking off his shoes and climbing up to lay next to her. she immediately curls into his side, arm draped over his chest, eyes heavy and kisses him again on the cheek. she nuzzles into him and he listens as her breathing gets slower and deeper and she finally drifts off.  
a smile tugs at his lips as he closes his own eyes, if he’d dared to think about this scenario a couple of days ago he would have laughed at himself, and yet here he was, embracing her sweet, sleeping form, the most relaxed he can remember feeling in his entire life.

a moment or two later, and for the first time in a long time, Hades joins her in a deep slumber.


End file.
